Aarzu, Modern Indian Bistro in Freehold, NJ

I hate restaurants like Aarzu! Once you eat there, not only do you regret they are not in your neighborhood and but it will also ruin any future experience you will have in an Indian restaurant. Well, when you know that Aarzu means “desire” in Hindi, you know a curse is upon you. A culinary curse. I admit that I did not expect such an incredible meal.

The menu is for the most part original, with several classics like the butter chicken ($26) or the lamb roganjosh ($30) that were really good, but quite usual. The appetizers were really what stoked me the most. Take the Dahi Vada ($9), a lentil fritter drenched in a sweet yogurt sauce with cumin. It was topped with a crunchy flower that gave the dish an immediate elegance, like a piece of art you will have to destroy with your fork. Same for the avocado mango bhel ($15), where the puffed rice not only shaped the dish, but gave it a delightful texture. But the two next dishes were even more surprising. The duck taco ($16) was a meeting between Indian (with the spices), Chinese with the Peking duck concept and hoisin sauce (it was mixed with tamarind) and Mexican for the name as it was not a tortilla, but 4 small paratha, a flaky, unleavened flat bread that has a little crunch. Packed in flavors, this is a dish not to miss. The second dish was the eggplant chaat ($16), where small eggplant chips where mixed with pomegranate, date chutney and candied ginger, giving it a sweet and savory taste without overpowering the eggplant that remained the star of the dish. They also have a nice selection of tandoor dishes, like chicken seekh ($26 - minced chicken kebab), but their lamb chops ($32) are definitely a must have: perfectly cooked, nicely charred and deliciously fatty. Like every Indian restaurant, they have a large selection of vegetarian dishes, some I did not really see anywhere else and some vegan, like the vegetable moilee ($24) that is a vegetable medley cooked in a coconut sauce or the Batthi ka paneer ($25) that is cottage cheese in a smoked tomato sauce (this one is not vegan). Both were delicious with some butter naan ($5) or rice.

Of course, I had to have a mango lassi ($8) that was decent, and Jodi got a masala chai ($5) with dessert: their Angoori gulab jamun ($10). The fried milk balls were delicious, but, instead of the classic sweet syrup, they sat in a saffron rabri that was a sauce with the texture of a crème anglaise. Different, it cut a bit on the sweetness of the fried balls.

Overall, this was a fantastic meal: the food was outstanding, with maybe the lentils fritters being my least favorite, the lamb chops and eggplant chaat, among over things, being a must have. I should point out the service was on point, making you feel welcome. I highly recommend this place!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Aarzu - 30 E Main St, Freehold, NJ 07728

Aarzu, Modern Indian Bistro in Freehold, NJ

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